The Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys basketball team began its seven-game homestand with a near scare but held off Arkansas Baptist for a 97-89 win Wednesday night at Tucker Coliseum.

The Wonder Boys (3-1) never trailed in the game but saw a big lead begin to gradually decrease in the second half.

"It was really a tale of two halves," ATU coach Rick McCormick said. "We were obviously pleased with the first half. ...We came out in the second half and kind of mentally shut down."

Leading 49-32 at halftime, Tech had its large lead lessened throughout the second half. The Buffaloes (3-8) cut the lead down to as little as two twice, with the last instance coming when Shaun Williams hit a shot off-glass to make the score 87-85 with 3:53 left.

However, with the Wonder Boys having the size advantage and Arkansas Baptist missing free throws down the stretch, Tech was able to go on for the win.

Terrell Jacob had a double-double in the second half alone. He scored 17 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to help the Buffaloes outscore the Wonder Boys 57-48 in the second half.

"They kind of came out with a 'we-have-everything-to-gain-and-nothing-to-lose mentality'," McCormick said. "We, on the other hand, kind of flipped the switch and shut down."

Arkansas Baptist shot 40.9 percent from the field in the second half. That was a slight increase from the first half, but the Buffaloes could not get enough offense going in the second half to complete the comeback.

"In college basketball, a win is a win," McCormick said. "We're going to have to get better, though, and play a complete 40 minutes. In the second half, the bottom line is we didn't get them stopped."

The Tech lead was cut to single digits when Lonnie Davis nailed a 3-point basket at the 15:10 mark to make the score 60-52. Ike Ohanson, however, scored four straight points to give the Wonder Boys a double-digit advantage again. All but two of his 15 points came in the second half.

Arkansas Baptist managed a few strong runs during the second half, relying heavily on outside shooting. The Buffaloes' lack of size, however, played a factor as Tech was able to get critical points in the paint.

Arkansas Baptist was playing without 6-7 center Roosevelt Drummer, who did not make the trip, but the Buffaloes pulled down 17 offensive rebounds and 27 total in the second half alone. Part of that was due to the difference in field-goal percentage, as Tech shot 63.3 percent in the final 20 minutes.

The first half, though, played out much differently for the teams.

The Wonder Boys started out strong, opening the game with a 10-1 run. Arkansas Baptist, meanwhile, had its share of shooting woes.

Size played a large factor, as Tech scored 46 of its first-half points in the paint. The Wonder Boys also had the rebound advantage, grabbing 22 to the Buffaloes' 13.

After Joel Casseus hit the game's first basket less than a minute into the game, Denarryl Rice hit a 3-pointer to begin his streak of eight straight points to complete the 10-1 run.

Rice - who was named Gulf South Conference Player of the Week - hit another long-range shot to complete that run, but that would be the last basket Tech would have for nearly three minutes.

The Buffaloes used that dry spell to get back in the game. Arkansas Baptist cut the lead to 14-10 after Casey Garrison drained a 3-point basket, but former Hector Wildcat Andrew Stanek hit a trey of his own to prevent the Buffaloes from getting any closer.

Both Stanek and Rice scored 11 points in the opening half.

Arkansas Baptist shot 38.2 percent from the field in the first half and hit 4 of 15 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc. The Wonder Boys shot 58.1 percent from the field in the first half and 53.8 percent from 3-point range and ever trailed. Their largest lead came when Stanek hit a 3-pointer at the 2:58 mark to give Tech a 41-21 lead.

Arkansas Baptist found somewhat of a shooting touch after that basket, but the Wonder Boy lead was too much to overcome.

"It's early in the season, and we're going to have to learn to grow," McCormick said.

Rice led Tech with 21 points. He was one of six Wonder Boys in double figures. Rone Smith finished with 19 points, Stanek had 13 and 12 rebounds, Joel Casseus had 11 points and Marcus Lyons scored 10 points.

Jacob scored 24 points to lead Arkansas Baptist. Kevin Morris and Octavious Bailey both had 17 each, and Williams finished with 14.

Tech will be back in action Saturday night against Northeastern (Okla.) State to continue its homestand. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Tucker Coliseum.